Legacy

My family attended a funeral visitation last night for the father of some dear friends. We did not personally know the father. Although when I was an infant this man was the pastor in my mom and dad's church and he baptized me.

As we left the funeral home I opened his funeral service bulletin and read about his life. One statement that I read was this, "His most important thing in life was passing on his faith in Christ and the importance of each person's relationship to Him."

Wow, what a legacy to leave. Although I did not know him, the legacy he left to his family had a huge impact on my life. His son and daughter-in-law played a huge role in both my husband and I seeking and accepting Christ. They were two people that also know the importance of passing on their faith in Christ and helping others to seek that relationship for themselves.

We only knew this couple for three years before we moved. In the big picture of life, that is not a long period of time. However, in those three years our lives were changed forever and they will always hold a special place in our hearts. They were an example to us in so many ways. Most importantly, God was the center of their lives, their marriage and their family.

As my husband and I talked about the impact this couple had on our lives, we talked about the opportunities we have now. So many times we have an opportunity to pass on our faith in Christ, yet we remain silent.

Acts 4:29b says, "enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." I know that Christ's intention was for us to spread the gospel to all the nations. We need to learn to spread the gospel with boldness without turning others away.

I come back to this couple. They showed us Christ's love through the examples of their lives. They shared their faith with us in a gentle, nonthreatening way that led us to dig deeper into ourselves. The passion they had for the Lord is lived out in their lives. We have been very blessed with a core group of friends in the last six years that have shown us great examples of this through the lives that they live.

As I begin another day in my journey, my prayer is this: "Lord, help me to speak your word with boldness to others in a way that draws them closer to a relationship with you. Lord, help me to live my life for you in a way that no one doubts my faith."

I also pray for the family that will lay a wonderful Godly man to rest today. We all have an opportunity to leave a legacy when we leave our earthly home. I pray that someday my family will be able to say without a doubt that I lived my life for Christ everyday, and that I shared my faith with everyone along the way.